Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has spoken out in defense of former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, following the release of his memoir, A Journey in Service: An Autobiography of Ibrahim Babangida. In the 420-page memoir, Babangida admitted that MKO Abiola won the 1993 presidential election, a victory that Babangida’s government had annulled, a revelation that has sparked a range of reactions across the country.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!While some critics have claimed that Babangida’s admission came too late, Senator Kalu, representing Abia North in the Senate, believes that Nigerians are being unfair to the former military leader. Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Kalu expressed his view that Babangida’s decision to speak out on the issue is commendable.
“I think Nigerians are very unfair to Babangida because he came out on his own,” Kalu said. He emphasized that Babangida had shown courage in revealing what many others had kept silent about, particularly regarding the 1966 coup, which Babangida clarified in his memoir was not an Igbo coup, a narrative that has long been held against the Igbo people.
Senator Kalu also suggested that Babangida’s book is incomplete, calling for a second volume to fully address the complex issues surrounding the June 12, 1993, election annulment and the events that followed. He believes that there are more details that need to be uncovered, particularly regarding the roles of other top military officers involved in the political crisis of the time.
“There is a need for Babangida to write a second book, where he will reveal the roles other officers played in the June 1993 election fallout. More military people who were there should talk about this,” Kalu added. He pointed out that Babangida’s departure from power was marked by significant danger and political tension, and that this context needs to be further explored.
The annulment of the June 12 election, which was widely regarded as free and fair, remains one of the most controversial events in Nigeria’s political history. While Abiola’s victory was annulled, Babangida’s recent revelation has added new layers to the discussion, reigniting debates about the annulment and its political consequences.
